


Unplanned

by bluedragon412



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Gay, M/M, florist, tattoo artist - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-21
Updated: 2015-10-31
Packaged: 2018-03-14 10:57:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3408020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluedragon412/pseuds/bluedragon412
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frank is nothing like the man his family wanted him to be. He never went to college, he has yet to get married, and he works in a floral shop. His life is unexciting to say the least, until one day an interesting looking man walks into the floral shop where he works. Soon enough his life goes from predictable and lame, to slightly more exciting. His life takes a turn and things go, well, unplanned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Before I begin, I want to say thank you to Wattpad user @areyounearme for giving me the general idea of this story. The story itself is mine, but they gave me the au and inspiration to actually write it. It's nothing professional, as I'm just a young teen writer. I apologize for any grammar errors, misspellings, and other things of the sort. In addition to posting this story here, I will also be posting it to mychemicalromancefanfiction.com and wattpad.com. If you see this story anywhere else, please let me know. With that being said, I hope you all enjoy this story!

_Beep. Beep. Beep._ My alarm clock sounded. I rolled over with a groan, sleep still clinging to my eyes, and checked the time displayed on the digital clock on my bedside table. It read 7:23 A.M. Sleep was suddenly a distant memory as I realized I had overslept, even if it was only 23 minutes; I still had to be at work for 7:40.

I flung the blankets back and got out of bed. I felt the chill of my apartment as I walked to the bathroom so I could shower. I let the water run for a little while to warm up while I looked at myself in the mirror above the sink. I had major bed head. I grabbed my toothbrush and the tube of toothpaste before stepping into the blast of warm water. Quickly, I shampooed my hair and washed my body. After rinsing, I brushed my teeth and stood still for some time, feeling the water as it hit my back. I was going to be late anyway, why not enjoy the water while it lasted?

When I was finally dressed and ready to go, I glanced at the clock. It was only 7:40, so I wasn’t going to be too late. I grabbed my keys off the counter and locked the door behind me, jogging down the street to the place where I worked. I checked in five minutes late, which wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be when I first woke up. I may have been rushed getting ready, but I still got there just early enough to have my absence go unnoticed.

Working in a floral shop wasn’t the job most people expected of me, but it was what I picked. I usually enjoyed it; I got to meet all kinds of people and I sure did hear a lot of different conversations that kept me entertained day in and day out. But today was Thursday, and Thursdays were the worst in my book. Everyone was ready for the weekend, but we all still had to suffer through the rest of the day and then Friday. It was just an annoying day that I think we all could agree should be ruled out of the work week. But my days off were Saturday and Sunday, so I put on my best “florist” smile, whatever that means, and went with it.

People came all through the day, but there was one person in particular who sparked my interest. He had flaming red hair and glowing pale skin, but it wasn’t your average “scene” look. His hair wasn’t styled to perfection, more like he hadn’t brushed it with anything other than his own fingers. His skin wasn’t the porcelain white you see on these epitomes of the internet scene kids we all aspire to be at some point in our lives. His skin was pale, yes, but it had a somewhat golden glow to it. He was intriguing.

He was glancing around, looking for something in particular. I asked him if I could help him find anything like I was supposed to. After all, I did work there. I will admit that I don’t think he thought I was an employee at first though. My hair was black, I had tattoos, and my normal work attire was a plaid shirt. I just wasn’t quite cut out to be working there five days a week. He looked surprised, but he let me help him nonetheless.

I was used to catching people off guard with my choice of employment, even my family had never seen it coming. When I was a teenager, I spent most of my time blasting the music of my favorite punk bands and doing drugs with my so called “friends”. They weren’t really friends to me, just people I hung around with in my high school years so I wasn’t always alone and got my supply from. My parents never knew I did drugs, which is a good thing. I hated disappointing people and it would be very disappointing to my parents if they knew that I spent the majority of my time away from the house getting fucked up with people who were ultimately strangers. Despite the fact that I spent a lot of time with them and knew their names, I didn’t know much about them other than the obvious things. It was never really important to get to know each other. We had drugs to give us a good time instead of sharing life stories and childhood memories.

But after high school, I knew I had to do something with my life. My father always wanted me to be a doctor, but that lifestyle was just _not_ for me. There is no way I could’ve been a doctor. For one, I didn’t have the money for college and I most _certainly_ didn’t want to be spending my life trying to pay the bank back. For two, “doctor stuff” never interested me, kind of grossed me out in fact. The whole doctor thing would just never be me and we all had to accept it, even if it took some time.

After a long day I finally got to go home. I was feeling content, like the day wasn’t all too bad. It’s always worse going through it than it is reflecting upon it and I felt better at the end of most days than I did going through them. I remembered I had went quicker getting to work that morning, so I took my time on the way home. I looked at the cars as they drove past me, took in deep breaths of oxygen, and paid attention to the things I missed in the morning. Things like the worn down street from so many cars taking the same path every day, the sound of the horns emitted from the cars of frustrated drivers, and the fading paint of the shops that continued down the sidewalk.

As I approached a coffee shop, I heard my stomach growl. I realized I hadn’t eaten since the night before and was very hungry. I decided to stop to grab something to eat, knowing my fridge at home hadn’t been restocked in nearly a week, so there wouldn’t be much to eat when I got home. When I walked into the coffee shop, something caught the corner of my eye. I thought nothing of it, except for those quick few seconds, and continued to the counter to place my order.

“One medium coffee, black. Could I also get a Salad Sandwich Wrap please? Thank you.” I waited for my order to be prepared as I paid, and then took my meal to a table towards the back of the shop.

As I ate my food I was thinking of how grateful I was that the shop was open for dinner time, too, when a flaming red haired man walked by my table. I watched the man I had helped earlier go grab some napkins and bring them back to a table where a skinny, brunette man was sitting with a spilled drink across his place at the table. I let out a short and quiet laugh as the red haired man bent over the brunette man to wipe up the mess. I assumed the redhead had made it since he, of course, was cleaning it up. I don’t think they saw me, but if they did they were pretty subtle about it.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

The next day was the same as every other day. I went to work, I went home. Simple as that. I sat at the counter mostly working the cash register like I did three out of five days a week. It was nothing special. I was just waiting for the day to be over so I could go home and turn on some tv.

Saturday was there in no time, and I woke up on the couch I had in what I liked to call the living room. My neck was sort of stiff from the awkward position I fell asleep in, but it wasn’t anything a few neck rolls couldn’t fix.

I got up and went to the fridge to see what was left from the past week to make myself some breakfast. There wasn’t much which reminded me that I had to go grocery shopping that day. Looking on the second shelf towards the back, I found a carton of eggs with three eggs left, but I wasn’t really in the mood for that. Instead I pulled out the jam and popped some bread into the toaster. I was looking for something more sweet that morning. When the toast was done, I spread some jam on it and scarfed it down. It was delicious and left me satisfied. Glancing at the clock on my stove I realized I woke up earlier than my usual 12:00 p.m on Saturdays; it was only 9:00 a.m. I decided to make the day useful and took a refreshing shower before heading into town.

The sky was dull around me and it looked as if it was going to rain soon. I wanted to get my groceries back home before that happened, so I walked a little faster than usual to the grocery store. I went and got the things I would need for the next week and continued on home. I was really hoping to make it home without the clouds releasing on me, but I was prone to bad luck. I walked up the stairs to my apartment a little more than just damp. I left my shoes at the door and put my groceries away.

My everyday life was pretty boring if you ask me. I followed the same schedule every week: go to work Monday-Friday from 7:40 a.m to 5:20 p.m, go grocery shopping on Saturday, and visit my mother on Sunday. She was lonely and I felt bad. I helped get her back on her feet after everything with my father, but she never seemed to be fully appreciative of me. I think she was disappointed that I never went to college and I had yet to get married. I was always told as a child that I wouldn’t get anywhere in life if I didn’t go to college and get a “real” job; being a florist was just an excuse. It didn’t matter that I made enough in that sad little shop to help her pay her bills every now and again when she went and blew her money on alcohol. She wasn’t all in her right mind, I guess. I felt like I had to do it, she went through enough.

Other than visiting her every week and sometimes lending her money, she and I were never as close as a mother and her son should be. We made small talk about the weather and what we had for dinner throughout the week, and sometimes we shared a story or two about something that happened at work, but we never shared our real emotions with each other. I knew she was depressed and had problems, but we didn’t talk about them. It was uncomfortable for both of us so we liked to dance around those things.

Sunday came almost too soon, but it was okay. My weekly walk to my mother’s house not only gave me a refreshing feeling, but it also gave me time to prepare topics of things we could discuss, leaving me mostly ready to face her again and bullshit my way through yet another visit. I got some exercise, but the walks were good for me for other things too. I mean, I walked everywhere. I would say I was pretty set on the exercise thing. But they also gave me a break from work, tv, sleep, and my apartment itself. I needed to get out of there for more than the short periods of time where I was required to. Although, going to my mother’s was somewhat considered a requirement too. But even still, I was getting out for a longer amount of time and I had a better chance to really take in my surroundings.

Occasionally, on my way there I would stop in a shop and pick her up a little something to surprise her and make sure she knew that no matter how routine these visits became, and no matter how far apart we were from each other in our own minds - even if we were in the same room for a few hours each week, I was still her son and she was still my mother. I know, mother’s have their own days for that specifically, but surprises are sometimes necessary to give someone the hope they need to continue on.

Other times, on my way back, I would stop in some shops and just look around for the sheer sake of being away from my life responsibilities. I would look at all kinds of things: specially handcrafted pottery, towels, books, clothes, and even jewelry. It didn’t even matter that I hadn’t had much money to just go and blow on these inessential luxuries. I just wanted to look, to know that these things existed, and hoped that one day my mother wouldn’t need my money so I could spend it on a whim myself.

“Frank,” my mother greeted me with a polite smile as she answered the door. “Here you are again.”

“Here I am,” I repeated, a small smile coming out. We were off to a good start that day. She had asked me how things were and I told her the same thing I told her every time, just with different words. We talked about the weather and how it had rained the day before. She asked me how the workflow was going and if anything interesting was happening with the business. Nothing ever was though, it was merely a flower shop. The most exciting thing that happened relating to the actual business was when we occasionally got blue and red roses in stock. The people I met at work could be interesting and I did sometimes tell her about those people, but I decided to not tell her about the intriguing redheaded man. I wanted for some reason to keep him a secret, if only until I could find out about him for myself.

My mother and I somehow made our conversation last until lunch time where we ate together making small talk to fill the air around us. Soon enough I was back on the sidewalk making my way home. It was starting to drizzle, but the fresh air outside was a nice change from the atmosphere inside her house and inhaled as much air as possible then slowly released it. I kept breathing in, trying to decipher the exact scent of the air. The rain started coming down heavier and faster. As cars passed me, I really only smelt the exhaust they expelled with a mixture of the wetness around me.

When my lungs were satisfied, I turned my attention to the cars and eventually to the people inside when they got close enough. It was hard to ignore the fact that they were all dry in their vehicles and I was wet and starting to get cold there on the sidewalk. My spirits weren’t dampened like my clothes were, though. I was strangely content, or so I thought. I was watching a car ahead of me, when I heard a beep that made me jump. I looked behind me and noticed a fairly familiar redheaded man driving a 2003 Toyota Camry pulling up to the curb where I was walking. I stopped in my tracks and looked directly at him. He rolled down his window and leaned his head out. “It looks as if it may be my turn to help you,” the man said with a smirk.


	3. Chapter 3

When I got in the man’s car, everything was quiet except the sound of the engine and the rain hitting the windshield. It was peaceful, but I was a little wary. Soon enough the man spoke.

“In case you wanted to put a name to my face, it’s Gerard.”

“Oh.” was all I said. Gerard kept driving. “Hey, Gerard?” I interrupted the silence. “Why were you out that way?”

“Visiting my mother,” Gerard said with a straight face. “Why were you walking out that way? In the rain? You could get sick, you know.”

“I was visiting my mother too..” I said carefully. “It wasn’t raining that hard when I left. Plus, I have a strong immune system. A little rain shouldn’t hurt.” Gerard nodded and everything was quiet again. He didn’t have any music on, so we sat there awkwardly. I did, at least. I looked around his car. He had a sketchbook lying on the seat behind his. Gerard glanced at me out of the corner or his eye and I decided I’d better just stay still and quiet.

“Do you mind if I smoke?” Gerard asked.

“Nah, go for it.” I replied

“Do you smoke?”

“Yeah.” I answered. “It’s a bad habit, but I would assume you know that already.”

He lit a cigarette and stuck it in his mouth. “Of course. But we all know it’s the things that kill you that make you feel the most alive.” It was my turn to nod. He offered me the cigarette, but I shook my head no. He asked if I was sure and I said of course, I just wasn’t really in the mood for smoking, which was a lie. I wasn’t sure about the man just yet, I had to decline for my own good. I could smoke all I wanted when I got home, which we were growing closer to at that point.

“So do you live in town?” I asked. He nodded. “I live just around the corner from here. You can drop me off now if you wa-”

“No,” he cut me off. “I’m too kind for that. I’ll drop you off at your door to help you stay as dry as possible.”

I uttered a quick “thanks” and felt my cheeks grow hotter. I lived in a beat up apartment on the poorer side of town and was a little embarrassed that he would be seeing it, even if it was only the outside and I had no control over what that looked like. I told him to take the next left and that my apartment was the second building on the left side of the street. He stopped right in front of it. “Thanks for the ride, man.” I said as I started to get out of his car.

“Wait,” he stopped me before I could close the door, “you never told me your name.”

“Frank.” I said simply.

“Frank,” said Gerard, “is that a nickname? Or is it just Frank?”

“Frank. It’s, uh, just Frank.” I furrowed my brows.

“Have a good night, Frank.”

“You too, Gerard. And thanks again for the ride.” I waved goodbye as I walked towards the stairs to my apartment. I turned to watch him drive off, getting wetter in the process. I was dumbfounded. The whole situation was just outright weird. I mean, what were the chances that we would both be visiting our mothers on the _same_ day? And what were the chances that he would have left his mother’s place in time to see me walking, and even stop to give me a ride? We were strangers. I helped him find some flowers and that was it. I saw him in the coffee shop, but I still didn’t know if he saw me. We weren’t even properly acquainted previously; we had only learned each other’s name in the car minutes before.

Despite the absurdity (in my mind) of the whole situation, I was kind of glad it happened. I now knew his name and he knew mine. It was a start. I hoped we would meet again. I figured it was likely because I had already seen him three separate times, but maybe that would be the end of our encounters and that thought somewhat saddened me. I wanted to know about Gerard. I wanted to _know_ Gerard. From the moment I saw him I knew I wanted to know him. I wanted to know him like the back of my hand. The more I saw him, the stronger my urge was. But when faced with the opportunity, I became tense and uncomfortable. I needed another chance. If I didn’t see him again, I would always wonder what if. I would always wonder what he was like, and who he really was. A name doesn’t give you much information.

It was a few weeks until I saw Gerard again in the coffee shop down the street from my work, but it was worth the wait. I was sitting in my usual spot near the back enjoying some coffee when he walked in. He was alone this time. He saw me and waved. I nodded my head towards him letting him know I saw him too. When he paid and got his coffee, he brought it over to me.

“Hey, mind if I sit here?” he asked earnestly.

“No problem, have a seat.”

We made small talk about the weather and such and he pointed out that liking coffee was another thing we had in common, next to smoking. I don’t know how long we talked for, but when I looked out the window the sun was setting. “I better get going soon,” I said nonchalantly, “work in the morning.”

“Oh, right. I’m sorry to have kept you here for so long!” Gerard exclaimed, his embarrassment creeping up, displayed on his cheeks.

“Oh, don’t be sorry,” I said looking him in the eyes, “I enjoyed talking with you.” My gaze fell to the table as I said my next few words and my hair covered my face a bit. “We should meet up again sometime.” I stole a glance up at him, but I was unable to read his face. “I mean, if you want. You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” I added quickly with an air of nervousness. He told me he would definitely like to meet up again and we made plans to meet back here next Thursday, a week from today.

As we left the coffee shop together, he offered to drive me home - despite the fact that I lived so close. I accepted his offer, wanting to spend more time with him, no matter how limited. I liked his company and hoped he liked mine as well. It would be kind of bad if he didn’t like my presence. If he didn’t want to be around me then I would have to accept that, but I would always have questions. I started to worry that he didn’t actually want to spend time with me and was just going along with everything for the time being. Maybe he felt bad that I didn’t have a car and that was the reason he was driving me.

“Are you sure about driving me?” I asked him when we got in his car. I had to ask. I paid close attention to him when he answered me.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” Gerard said without hesitation. He looked pretty sincere. I decided it was okay and he was being caring like any friend would, nothing more, nothing less. I didn’t answer him. “Are you sure about me driving you?”

“Oh, yeah. I just didn’t want you to feel like you had to drive me, you know? I don’t live too far and I like walking. But if you want to then I’m very much willing.”

“Good.” Gerard started the car and backed out of the spot he was parked in.

The car ride to my house was a lot less awkward than the first one and I was thankful. It was only a few short minutes in the car with Gerard, but it was still time for us to become more accustomed to being around each other. I felt more at ease and I even took a drag of his lit cigarette when he offered this time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to post this chapter a very long time ago but I guess I didn't so I'll be posting two chapters tonight. Feedback is much appreciated and I'm sorry for the extremely late update. I hope at least someone enjoys this story. Happy (late-ish) Halloween!

Summer was approaching and boy were the days growing hotter. I usually kept all my windows shut tight and locked because I lived in an area that left me at a higher risk for my house being broken into, as opposed to the “norm” when you lived in New Jersey, but the night before I opened my window to get some fresh air. It was the perfect temperature and I wanted to enjoy the breeze as it came through the room. I was reflecting on how my life had changed over the past month all because of this one particular man, Gerard. Gerard, I repeated to myself in my head. An interesting name for an interesting man. It fit him perfectly. My mind became clouded with thoughts about every little thing and I suppose I must’ve grown tired with all that thinking, because soon enough I was asleep with a background noise of cars passing and the distant sound of their horns.

Of course I woke up to horns honking outside my apartment, it only made sense since I’d fallen asleep with the light sounds of them as they grew farther and farther away. It was just my luck that they would be closer and louder to wake me up, unlike when they put me to sleep. I waited patiently for them to stop as I drifted off to sleep once more, but I was jolted awake when they started back up again. I was a little frustrated, so I got up to peek my head out the window and have a look at why the hell someone was honking outside for so long. I saw Gerard’s silver car and cursed under my breath. Why was he here at 2 a.m on a Saturday morning? Shouldn’t he be sleeping like, oh I don’t know, _normal_ people do?

“What the hell, Gerard? Why are you here?” I shouted out the window. “And why on _earth_ would you _honk_? You could’ve, and probably did wake up all my neighbors. I won’t hear the end of it! Next time just come up if it’s that important, please.” I was tired.

“Get your ass down here, Frank!” Gerard’s window was rolled down so we could communicate without a glass barrier.

“Why? It’s two in the morning, Gerard! Why aren’t you at home sleeping?”

“Just come down here! Put clothes on if you don’t have them on already. Lock your doors.”

I reluctantly gave in and slipped on some sweatpants over my boxers and pulled on a shirt. Shaking my head, I grabbed my keys and locked the door behind me.

“We’re going for a ride, get in,” Gerard told me excitedly. I would’ve asked where we were going, but I knew it would be no use. I couldn’t believe I was doing it, but I got in his car without arguing and we were off.

I fell asleep a few times, but Gerard never woke me up. I was thankful for that because I really was exhausted. When I woke up, we were driving fast on the highway. I wondered if I’d snored, and if he heard me if I did. I looked up at the clock and read that it was 3:34 a.m. I rubbed my eyes and turned to Gerard. I noticed there was music on, really quiet, and he was sort of humming along. His face gave me the impression that he was getting too deep in his own thoughts.

“Gerard,” I started. He turned his head to me for a second and gave me a questioning look. “Where are we going?”

I awaited his answer for some time, and almost asked again when he finally piped up.

“I don't really know,” Gerard confessed, “I just wanted to get out of my apartment. My brother, our friends, and I all live in the same building. All I could hear was my brother Mikey, and our friend Ray playing video games and jumping around. Ray lives above me, so I guess they were having some sort of late night gaming session at his. It was hard to sleep and I needed to get away. I would’ve went alone, but what’s the fun in that? Plus, I like your company. You keep me entertained and I don’t get too far up my own ass cause I’m thinking about other things. So I decided I’d be the asshole I am and wake you up, bring you on this ride, and just talk about random shit.”

I laughed at Gerard calling himself an asshole.

“You know, when I heard you honking, all I could think was ‘why is this asshole honking their horn at this hour?’” I shook my head as a smile grew on my face.

“Well, now you know that _this asshole_ wanted to take you out of the comfort of your home at 2 a.m so he didn’t have to be alone.” Gerard grinned a cheeky grin that showed his tiny, imperfect teeth.

Gerard was a strange man, but he wasn’t the bad type of strange. Gerard was the type of strange that once you got a glimpse, you were staring trying to figure out just what exactly you were looking at. You _wanted_ to figure it all out because it was a nice change from every usual, mundane thing in your life. It was kind of like walking around in an art gallery when I actually thought about it; in an art gallery, you saw these strange things and you looked however long you needed to figure them out. That’s what Gerard was like for me. I was taking my time trying to figure him out. Just like the art you find in a gallery, he was a nice kind of strange, the kind that lures you in. It was refreshing to see something new and different for once.

“Well, now that I’m awake," I started, “we can get started with our conversation about random shit. What shall we start with?” I asked.

“Well, first I have to ask how your sleep was.” Gerard looked at me with a devilish glimmer in his eye.

“Oh no,” I groaned, turning my gaze back to the road ahead of us. “I snore don’t I?”

I really hoped I didn’t snore. I was already a little self conscious with Gerard for some reason and snoring was one of my biggest concerns. I looked back at him, praying his answer would be no.

“Oh yes you do, Frank.” Gerard said seeming satisfied with himself, having witnessed one of the embarrassing things about me so soon. I felt my cheeks grow warmer as they started to change color.

“Don’t worry,” Gerard teased, “I won’t tell anyone. I snore too. It’s totally okay, dude. Besides, you don’t seem to be one of those obnoxious snorers, y’know what I mean? You’re good.” He nodded as if to confirm what he’d just said.

I let out a small sigh of relief, silently thanking whoever was listening for letting this not be such a big deal.

“To answer your question, I slept alright. Thanks for not waking me up, I’ve barely been sleeping and I needed the rest.” I said.

“No problem, man. Been there, done that. I’m just glad you came along for the ride. I’ve been on enough of these to know from experience that they’re hell if you’re alone.” said Gerard.

“’S my pleasure,” I said.

With that we fell silent again. I wondered what occupied his list of “random shit” because to me it seemed like there was nothing to discuss. I decided I’d ask and find out.

“So,” I started, unsure of how I should approach the topic. “Random shit you said?”

Gerard nodded, so I continued. “Random shit like what? Are we talking global warming or something? Would you like to discuss black holes with me? Or maybe we could ask each other questions?”

“Well, I didn’t really think that far ahead,” Gerard confessed, “I figured... well, I hoped mostly that the conversation would just play itself out and take us wherever it would. But it seems that you and I aren’t really on that track this morning. Asking each other questions sounds good to me. You start."

Oh man, I thought. I was the worst with questions. Why couldn’t he start first? He probably had a million questions about me, like why on Earth I chose to work at a floral shop, for starters. With that I realized I had no idea what Gerard did for a living, if he even worked at all. Suddenly I had my first question. “What do you do for work?”

Gerard seemed a little unprepared to answer this question, like people didn’t normally ask him about his job. I watched him as he pondered his answer. Nothing could have prepared me for it. “I, Frank, am a tattoo artist.” Gerard replied.

I don’t know what made it so hard for me to believe that this man sitting beside me was a tattoo artist, but I was having a hard time wrapping my head around the new piece of information. Maybe it was the fact that most of the tattoo artists I’d seen in my lifetime were all pierced and tatted up and Gerard seemed to have neither piercings nor tattoos, or maybe it was the fact that he seemed too innocent and pure. He was rather feminine too, not that feminine people couldn’t be and weren’t tattoo artists. But Gerard just didn’t seem like the type of person to be a tattoo artist. He was flamboyant. His persona just didn’t quite fit his job. Gerard must’ve seen the look of surprise on my face.

“Believe it or not, I truly am. Ray actually was the man who got me my job. One day when I was giving Mikey and him a ride to some bar, Ray noticed my sketchbook sitting on the back seat next to him. He asked to have a look, I let him. Turns out I have some talent, or so he says. No one has complained about the art though, so I suppose I may be a little good,” Gerard said.

“Is the sketchbook with you?” I asked. Gerard nodded. “Can I have a look at it too?”

“If you want you can grab it now. It’s in the console.” Gerard told me.

I opened the console and there it was, sitting on top. It was the same sketchbook I saw in his back seat once or twice when we were in his car. It was black with the brand, I assumed, printed in red lettering. I carefully opened it and looked at every page; I studied every piece of art he had in the book. He was an amazing artist from what I saw spilled across the pages. No wonder he was a tattoo artist. He loved art, it was quite plain to see. But I had another question.

“Do you have any tattoos yourself?” I asked. Gerard let out a small, almost amused laugh.

“Oh, no, Frank. I don’t. But before you ask why, I’ll tell you. I’m deathly afraid of needles. I can handle them going in other people, yes, I can do that. But when it comes to sticking needles in my own skin? Oh no. No, no, no, no, no. Not a chance.”

“That makes sense,” I guessed. “I guess I’m the same way with spiders. Someone else can have a spider as a pet or have one crawling all over them, no big deal. But once you put the spider anywhere near me, all hell is about to break loose. Those things are scary.”

“Yeah.” Gerard agreed.

“You really are a good artist, you know.” I told him.

“Thank you," he replied.

“Your turn,” I said. He looked confused for a second, then seemed to remember.

“Oh, yeah. Hmm...” Gerard pondered for a minute. “Well, I know you work in the floral shop. I assume you must like tattoos since you have a few visible ones. Umm.. hmmm.” He hesitated. “What’s your relationship status? Girlfriend?” He paused again. “Boyfriend?” he said a little quieter. I shook my head.

“No, no girlfriend or boyfriend. Yourself?”

“Nope. I like to think I’m better off alone but I know there’s a possibility that someone could eventually change that for me. I just haven’t met them yet.” Gerard told me.

I nodded and thought about what he said for a while. He had a point. Being alone was better than being with someone who would worsen you instead of make you better.

I’d always been with people who didn’t quite matter; I had yet to be with someone who I truly loved. The few girlfriends I had when I was in high school weren’t all that serious and we were usually together just so we could fuck around.

Back in high school I told a few girls I loved them. I never meant it; love was just an excuse for us to have sex without feeling like we were losing an important part of ourselves. People always told us to save those things for someone you loved, so if we said we loved each other we weren’t doing anything wrong. It was love after all, right?

Getting out of high school and being alone for a few years gave me time to grow up. I’d been to bars and clubs, I’d hooked up with people. I figured out on my own that if there’s no emotional tie then there’s really no point. Aside from sex of course, because who doesn’t love sex? But sex gave me this empty feeling because the people never meant anything to me. As much as I hate to admit it, it’s the truth. I was giving myself away to strangers and it felt like shit in the morning when they were gone. No one ever stuck around, no one ever made me a better man, or want to be one for that matter. I know, I sound like some softie guy. Maybe I am. But the point now is that I’ve grown up. I’ve acquired some smarts. I agreed with Gerard. It was better to be alone than to be with someone who would worsen me, or with someone completely meaningless and be exhausted from the facade.

“Do you want to meet them?” I asked after a short while.

“I’m not sure yet.” was Gerard’s answer. I decided to leave it at that and changed the subject.

“Should we stop somewhere and get a coffee and call it our final destination, or should we keep driving until we drive off the face of the world?” I asked.

“I think we’d better get ourselves some coffee and turn around.” Gerard responded. He seemed content, and so was I.

We got our coffees and Gerard paid because I had no cash on me. I promised I’d buy next time. He said it was no big deal, but agreed anyway.

The drive back was fun. Gerard turned the radio up and we rolled our windows down. We sang along to Misfits and Black Flag and whatever else was on if we knew it. When we got closer to my apartment I told Gerard that I didn’t want to go back there. He offered to let me crash at his place for the rest of the day and said that then I could meet Ray and Mikey for myself. I thought it sounded like a pretty good idea so I decided to go along.

I’d never been to Gerard’s place before then, so driving through town to get there was a little odd. He lived in a wealthier area than I did, but it wasn’t the richest neighborhood either. He lived on the fifth floor.

“Make yourself at home,” Gerard said. “The remote for the tv is probably on the couch, put on whatever you’d like. I’m gonna get something to eat. Want something?”

“Whatcha got?”

“I have cheese hot pockets!” Gerard said happily.

“I’ll have one of those then.” I grinned.

“Coming right up.”

We ended up eating and falling asleep watching tv, but a knocking on Gerard’s door woke us up.

A familiar man stood at the door. He was the one who had coffee spilled on him that day in the coffee shop.

“Hey, you got any--” He stopped when he saw me. “Who’s the guy?” He turned back to Gerard.

“That’s Frank.” Gerard motioned his hands to me and then to the man, and then back to me again. “Frank, Mikey. Mikey, Frank.”

“Nice to meet you, Mikey.” I smiled at him.

“Nice to meet you too, Frank. It’s nice to finally see the man my brother keeps telling me about.” Mikey said. We turned to Gerard to find his face reddened with embarrassment from the remark. Mikey snickered and I realized that embarrassing his brother was probably his goal. I felt my face grow a little warmer as well.

“Ah, yes. This is him.” Gerard said to Mikey.

There was an awkward silence.

“Um.. so what did you want before, Mikey?” Gerard asked his brother.

“I was wondering if you had any potatoes. Ray really wants a baked potato and we both have none, and we definitely aren’t about to go out to get some potatoes if you have some.”

“Uh, sure, in the kitchen.”

Mikey walked into the kitchen and returned with a bag of potatoes. “Thanks Gerard. Bye guys,” he said, waving to me and then Gerard as he walked out the door.

“Well, now you’ve met my brother. Mikey fuckin’ Way.” Gerard said to me.

“Yes, I have.” I replied. “What was that he said about you telling him about me? What have you told him?” I questioned.

“Oh, just little things here and there,” Gerard said, careful not to give anything away in his voice.

“Such as?”

“Maybe I’ll tell you another time.” Gerard said.

“You think I’ll meet Ray today?” I asked.

“Yeah. We can go up there and hang out with them in a little while. I don’t wanna interrupt their breakfast.”

“Breakfast?” I glanced at the clock. “It’s 1:28 in the afternoon.”

“Yes, but they probably just woke up a little while ago and haven’t eaten yet. It’s normal on the weekends for them, normal every day for Mikey. Mikey doesn’t really have a steady job. When he needs money to pay rent he usually just goes to Ray and asks if he needs any extra help around the shop, or asks me to help him out for the month. I mostly make enough money to support both of us, so I give him money when he needs it. It’s usually not a lot that he needs, but I have some money saved for him in case he really needs a lot sometime. In case of an emergency, y’know? I mean, Mikey’s my little brother. It’s my job to look out for him and make sure he’s doing okay.” Gerard said.

“Aww, brotherly love,” I teased. “But on a more serious note, that’s really kind of you. You seem like a good brother.”

“I try,” Gerard said. “When we were younger, Mikey always said he was going to own a house and I was going to live in his basement and draw shit to make up for not helping with the bills. But I was always responsible with my money and Mikey turned out to not be the kind of man to work every day, and I don’t blame him. Why work at some shitty job every single day if you hate it? You’d be miserable. I know I was when I had to work at all these places just to get by with barely enough money to pay my rent and get food. But then Ray hired me at his tattoo shop and the pay is great for me. I’m so thankful to that fluffy haired man. Without him, Mikey would be miserable because he’d have no one to hang out with and I’d be miserable working three jobs that I hate.”

“Well, now I can’t wait to meet the man for myself.” I said. I wasn’t lying either. I wanted to meet Gerard’s friends and family. I wanted to meet the people who were important to Gerard, the people he loved.

 

***

 

“I’m coming!” I heard a man shout from deep inside his apartment. That must’ve been Ray.

“Hey, man!” Gerard greeted him when he opened the door. “Frank wanted to meet you since he met Mikey earlier.”

Ray nodded and his curly brown hair bounced. He shook my hand as we were introduced to each other by Gerard. I gave a toothy smile.

“Mikey’s just inside playing video games. Care to join?” Ray asked. “This way,” he said, waving for us to follow him inside.

We played some zombie fighting games for a few hours and ordered a cheese pizza for dinner. When I checked the time it was a lot later than I expected. It was almost 10:00 p.m. I can’t say the day was wasted though. Not only did I have fun and get to meet Gerard’s friends and family, I also got out of my apartment for a lot longer than usual and was social for once. I made new friends and that felt good. We made plans to hang out again soon and Gerard and I went back down to his apartment.

I told him I had to go to my mother’s in the morning, but he still asked me if I wanted to stay another night. I don’t know what made me say yes, but I did.

We got comfortable next to each other on the couch and talked for a long time. Somehow we got into the topic of our parents. I learned that his father had died in the army, forcing him to take care of his mother, Mikey, and himself. Because of that, he grew very close to his mother.

“I hate violence,” Gerard told me with a hint of disgust in his voice. “I always hated the fact that my dad had to be in the army. We all worried about him every day. When we got the letter letting us know he died, I was only 15. Mikey was 12. We took it rough.” Gerard took a deep breath before continuing. “Ever since, I have hated the thought of fighting or hurting anyone. I know you’re going to ask about tattoos. I know they hurt people, but it’s for art. Not for the sole purpose of pain or violence. No one is trying to win anything. They just want a piece of art on their body forever. It’s totally different.”

“I wasn’t going to ask about tattoos, actually. I’m sorry about your father…” I trailed off. I was thinking about my own father and whether or not I should share with Gerard that story. After a few minutes of silence I made my decision to tell him. “I know it’s painful to lose someone you love, never mind a parent. I lost my dad to a drug overdose. I don’t know why he even did drugs, but I seem to have inherited that part of him. I did drugs for a while, too. That’s beside the point though. Losing my dad had an effect on my mom and me.. My mom became an alcoholic to drown her sorrows. I visit her every Sunday and help her pay the bills sometimes because she spends most of her money on alcohol. We aren’t that close though. We don’t talk about our problems. We pretend they don’t exist.” I didn’t know what to say after and I feared I said too much when Gerard didn’t say anything either.

I felt a hand grasp mine. I looked up at Gerard and I knew we understood each other. Losing people was hard, but when you had someone who understood you, it was suddenly a lot easier. I squeezed his hand and he pulled me closer. We didn’t say anything for the rest of the night and I concentrated on his breathing until I fell asleep with my head on his shoulder and our fingers intertwined.


	5. Chapter 5

I’d been laying in bed for the past hour because it was my day off and I just wanted a laid back day where I could relax and not worry about anything. I told Gerard we could hang out later if he was up for it. He wasn’t feeling so well but he told me he’d probably swing by later anyway because he wanted to see me. I wanted to see him too, considering we hadn’t had the time to meet up the past few days and the last couple of weeks had been hectic with my mom, work, and with our everyday lives just not wanting to let things work.

Having a good friend was strange. It felt so new to me. It actually was new to me. Before Gerard, I’d never had a best friend who I truly cared this much about. I’d never been able to count on someone like I could count on him, or his brother, or his friends. His friends were my friends. I’d say the same about my friends being his, but I didn’t really have other friends. It was nice, this whole friend thing. I liked going to his place on the weekends and having him over whenever it worked out. I hoped he would stop by later that day.

I fell asleep thinking about Gerard, but when I woke up I definitely wasn’t expecting to see him hovering over my bed.

“Gerard?” I croaked with sleep still in my throat.

“Ah, yes. It is I, the famous Gerard Way that you have been waiting for!”

Gerard was really quite energetic all of the time. I don’t know why. It was like, once we had that talk on his couch he had broken out of his mysterious shell. I could usually predict him and the spontaneous things he’d come up with, and he was always bouncing around, full of life.

“You’re not famous yet, man,” I told him. He gasped and threw his hand up to his chest, faking a look of hurt.

“Why do you refuse to accept the fact that the world loves me?” He whined. “I’m the best tattoo artist out there and I have millions of people lining up to get a piece done. I’ve just been _so_ overbooked and stressed out that I had to take this day to come visit my favorite friend to get my mind off of things.” He gave a cheeky grin. “That’s why I’m here, by the way. You know, just in case you were wondering.”

I sat up in bed, pulling my blanket around me. “Oh, Gerard,” I sighed, “I know you’d love to have your work noticed and I think everyone knows how much you’d love to be famous. One day you’ll be living your dream life,” I said sincerely.

Gerard really was an amazing artist and he had the biggest heart. His dreams to become a well known tattooist and artist in general could very well come true. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not ever if he stayed in this little New Jersey town, but his work was so good that it wasn’t impossible.

“Your work is absolutely great,” I said, reaching out to touch his arm. That was my way of showing him I was being serious.

“I came to get my mind off of this,” Gerard reminded me.

“Oh, right.” My cheeks flashed a quick shade of red. “So what’s the plan for today then? I thought you weren’t feeling well? You can come into bed with me if you want.”

“Well, I’m not feeling the greatest,” he confessed as he got into bed with me. “But I had the feeling that if I came over and saw you I’d feel better. Being around you always fills me up with happiness and even on my crappiest days you seem to lift my spirits, which is odd because you’re always such an asshole to me, Frankie.” He pouted his lip and i wanted to push him off the bed. I almost did, too, but I didn’t want to prove him right.

Okay, so maybe I was an asshole to him. But before you get mad with your ideas, let me just say that he was an asshole to me too! Plus, he was such a wise guy that it was hard to not give the same attitude right back to him. We played off of each other. We were even.

We ended up laying in bed all day and talking about what’s been going on in our lives recently. He told me how Mikey had gotten sick, and then Ray caught it, and now he was getting it.

“Don’t worry, Frankie. I don’t think you’ll catch anything from me or the guys,” said Gerard. “After all, you do have a strong immune system, don’t you?” He winked at me.

This time I did hit him for being a wise guy. The fact that he remembered what I said when we first met was kind of surprising because even I had sort of forgotten about it. But he clearly didn’t. That means he was paying attention and because he was paying attention I was led to believe that he cared about me, which felt good. I liked being cared about.

“Sorry for that..” I apologized to him. “But the flu _is_ pretty contagious. How would you feel if I were to get sick from you? Huh, Mr. Wise Guy? How would you feel?” I teased.

“Honestly? I’d be pretty excited because then we could be sick together like the ultimate gross and idiotic pair of best friends we are.” Gerard giggled.

“You really are a gross idiot.” I shook my head at him. “Why do you think being sick together would be fun? We would be coughing all over each other, possibly puking, and we would most likely be miserable.” I said sternly. Didn’t he realize these things? Sickness isn’t fun.

Either way, Gerard still thought it would be great to be sick together. He started purposely coughing all over me. I swatted him away with my hands and even hid under the covers, but alas, he kept forcing the contaminated air out of his lungs. What a dud.

“Gerard! Would you stop that?” I shouted. “Gerard!”

“No way, Frankie,” he laughed. “I won’t stop until I think there’s a good chance of you catching my illness. We’re in this together now.” He declared wickedly.

“And I’m the asshole,” I muttered.

“Of course you are!” was Gerard’s cheerful response. Like I said, he was always full of life. Like he said, I always seem to fill him with happiness.

As things calmed down I realized I didn’t know what time it was, but I was hungry. I didn’t eat breakfast because Gerard came over before I was even awake and we just stayed in bed. I checked the clock and it was 5:00 p.m.

“Hey, Gee, have you eaten at all today?”

“No. Well, I did have coffee before I came here, but that’s not food. Maybe we should order some pizza. I can call Mikey and have him and Ray come over too.” Gerard suggested.

“Sounds good.”

I called our local pizza place while Gerard called Mikey.

The guys and the pizza arrived at the same time, but only because they stopped to pick it up on their way over. It was the best tasting thing I’d ever eaten, or at least it felt like it. Since none of us had work the next day we decided to pop in a movie and squeeze ourselves onto the two couches I own. One was ridiculously small and of course Gerard offered to share it with me. We ended up basically right on top of each other, but it didn’t matter because we were watching Star Wars and he was totally engrossed in it. By the time that movie was over, Gerard and I had finally found a comfortable way to sit and Ray and Mikey had all the room they needed since the moment we sat down. Everyone agreed that we would watch The Empire Strikes Back next, so after I put it on I grabbed the pack of cigarettes that was set on the counter and went outside to smoke one. I was expecting cigarettes to be in there, but much to my surprise, it was a box filled with daisies instead of a box filled with cigarettes.

I shook my head in disbelief. I had a feeling it was Gerard who did this, but it could’ve been any of the guys. Why would someone have a pack of daisies? I didn’t understand; they were just going to die anyway. I took the flowers out just to make sure there were no cigarettes hidden in there and I found none. I put the flowers back in the box and went back inside to join my friends and watch the movie. I kept the box in my pocket to ask Gerard about later.

About halfway through the movie I dozed off.When I woke up however long later I was somehow laying on Gerard’s chest. The movie seemed to be just ending and when I looked over to the other couch I saw that Mikey and Ray were knocked out. I peeked up at Gerard and it looked like he was asleep too. He looked so peaceful and innocent. He looked beautiful.

Something inside me changed at that moment and I suddenly had a yearning for him. I didn’t know what to do about it so I just gently reached for his hand and intertwined our fingers. I laid my head down on his chest again and closed my eyes. As I started to drift to sleep again I could’ve sworn I felt Gerard kiss my forehead and give my hand a squeeze. I blinked a few times to wake myself up a bit more and looked back up at Gerard.

“Gerard?” I whispered. His eyes were still closed so I thought he was asleep.

“I’m sorry, Frank,” Gerard whispered back, his eyes still closed. Why did he sound so upset? Was he dreaming?

“For what? Are you okay, Gee?” I sat up and looked at him. “Are you dreaming?”

“No, I’m awake,” said Gerard. He slowly opened his sleepy olive eyes and looked at me. “I shouldn’t have done what I did. I’m sorry,” he said. “We’re just friends and I know it was wrong and --”

“No, Gee,” I cut him off. “It’s okay,” I assured him softly, looking into his eyes

I leaned in close to his lips and whispered one last “it’s okay” before finally placing my lips on his after what seemed like an eternity of waiting within that short moment. When our lips met, he exhaled as if he was released from something that had been agonizing him for a long time. I let out a sigh as I melted into him. His lips felt like heaven on mine and I felt like I’d waited a lifetime for that moment. Our kiss seemed to last forever. I wanted it to last forever. His lips were so soft, and his kiss was so gentle and reassuring. We fit together perfectly; like we were two puzzle pieces, like I was a boat and he was my sea to float upon. I felt free and at peace. I wanted to keep kissing him, but I didn’t. Instead I reached into my pocket and pulled out the box that should’ve been filled with cigarettes, but had daisies where those cigarettes were supposed to be.

“Did you put these in here?” I asked, showing the box to him.

“It depends. How would you feel if I did?”

“Well, I don’t really know. I grabbed them thinking they were mine when I went out to smoke and was kind of surprised and amused when I saw there were flowers instead of cigarettes, but I was also disappointed because I really wanted a smoke. We can decide how I feel after I hear what you have to say for yourself,” I mused.

“Okay. My explanation is good, I swear.” He paused. I motioned for him to continue. “Remember the first day we saw each other at the floral shop?” He asked.

“Of course I do. You were looking around for something and when I asked if I could help you find anything you told me…” It was my turn to pause. “You asked me if we had daisies and I showed you where they were. But that doesn’t explain why you put daisies in a pack of cigarettes.”

“I asked you for daisies because daisies are my favorite kind of flower and I wanted to have some in my apartment for comfort and decor. But when I saw you, I had this feeling. I was drawn to you and I wanted to know you. Every time I saw the daisies in the vase on my kitchen table I would think of you. Daisies always remind me of you, so it just made sense at the time to put them in there and hope you’d find them. I don’t know if you can understand. If you want, I have a whole new, unopened pack that we can go out and share before bed?” His voice raised at the end making his statement more of a question.

“I guess that makes sense. That’s actually really sweet of you, Gee. Thank you. Now whenever I see daisies I’m gonna think of you too. We can think of each other.” I kissed him on the cheek and we both blushed. This was still new and we would probably have to talk a lot to clear things up and figure everything out.

“Now, let’s go share a cigarette.” I said. I took his hand and led him out the door.


End file.
